Police beat

Westerville: Bookkeeper suspected of embezzling more than $16,000

The owner of a local drywall business reported May 29 that a former employee embezzled more than $16,000 from the company over a period of 17 months, Westerville police reports said.

In a deposition to the company's lawyer, the bookkeeper reportedly admits to writing checks of various amounts to herself from the local company and its sister company between November 2012 and March 2014.

According to Westerville police reports, the bookkeeper used the signature stamp of an owner, and claimed that she was being reimbursed for expenses. But when questioned by police, she could not document any of the expenses.

The suspect reportedly wrote 28 checks over the course of the 17 months. Amounts ranged from $100 to $1,000.

During the deposition, the suspect gave, "because I could" as the reason for her actions, though it was also noted that she was dealing with financial struggles and an ex-husband who was not paying child support.

Police are planning to speak to all parties involved, and the investigation is ongoing, reports said.

In other recent incident reports from the Westerville Division of Police:

• A resident reported someone broke into her home in the 1100 block of Colony Drive and stole her birth certificate.

The woman was unsure of when the intruder may have entered her home, but said that it was between May 23 and 27.

The intruder entered through a locked door, took only her birth certificate, which was in an unlocked drawer, and left through the same door, locking it behind. But the door also had a buzzer alarm that the suspect did not reset, reports said.

• A resident of the first block of South State Street told police he is missing a gun that was stored in a locked drawer.

According to the report, he had not seen the gun since April 20, and it was not in its usual place when he checked May 25.